KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A cold-call scam is going around. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is telling people not to respond to suspicious phone calls.
The scammers are claiming to be Publishers Clearing House and will tell you that you have won a large prize.
Sheriff Tommy Jones has said it’s common for scammers to trick people into buying gift cards. They will ask you to purchase a $125 gift card and ask you for the card numbers. Then the scammers will tell you they will transfer the prize to the card.
Jones said not to buy gift cards for strangers over the phone. If this has happened to you, report it to www.ic3.gov.
The Federal Trade Commission said it received more than 1.8 million complaints about robocalls in the 2022 fiscal year. That’s down from 3.4 million in the 2021 fiscal year.
Learn how to protect yourself from scammers at the Better Business Bureau’s website.